The period of time following a homeowner's or renter's insurance claim may be a disruptive and confusing one for the individual affected. Those affected may be physically displaced from their residence, perhaps permanently. Their new or temporary residence may be unfurnished, and/or not stocked with daily essentials. Insurance claims against “loss of use” and replacement of property damaged in the loss event may cover the financial burden of the loss, but there is a significant amount of time and energy that must be spent by the policyholder on making arrangements for the replacement of their lost property. Additionally, a time lag may occur between the out-of-pocket expenses incurred by a policyholder and the eventual payment of claims.
In the event of a loss of the sort that causes an insured to vacate their home or other primary residence, insurance agents may cut checks for initial expected “loss of use” claims, which may be used for temporary housing and other essentials. Claim disbursements for personal property may be typically made after a claim adjuster has made an assessment of the totality of a loss based upon the policy provisions. For example, some policy provisions include, but are not limited, to the personal property coverage amount, as well as any loss settlement provisions such as “actual cash value” vs. “replacement cost” provisions. Personal property inventory forms (PPIFs) may be used (if they were previously completed by a policyholder and agent) to expedite the process of claims adjustment and property replacement. However, the time and effort of the property replacement—i.e. shopping for furniture and other goods—is still a task the policyholder must perform.